I have no idea how to pay for law school.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a dependendent so it seems like the issue will only come up if my parents file extensions and I cannot give schools their tax info on time so that I can actually get the aid. I am planning on calling different school's offices this week to find out whether this will be a problem.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a dependendent so it seems like the issue will only come up if my parents file extensions and I cannot give schools their tax info on time so that I can actually get the aid. I am planning on calling different school's offices this week to find out whether this will be a problem.

If you're independent, you don't have to give the schools your parents' info at all unless you get some sort of need-based grant based on NeedAccess or the CSS/Profile.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a dependendent so it seems like the issue will only come up if my parents file extensions and I cannot give schools their tax info on time so that I can actually get the aid. I am planning on calling different school's offices this week to find out whether this will be a problem.

If you're independent, you don't have to give the schools your parents' info at all unless you get some sort of need-based grant based on NeedAccess or the CSS/Profile.

Really? So if I end up getting bubcus need-based aid I will be fine? (I don't make much $ but I don't know that I am especially "needy").

I am basically a financial aid idiot. I know almost nothing, though I have started at least trying to educate myself while waiting for my work to send me my tax stuff.

Thanks for the advice. I'm not a dependendent so it seems like the issue will only come up if my parents file extensions and I cannot give schools their tax info on time so that I can actually get the aid. I am planning on calling different school's offices this week to find out whether this will be a problem.

If you're independent, you don't have to give the schools your parents' info at all unless you get some sort of need-based grant based on NeedAccess or the CSS/Profile.

Really? So if I end up getting bubcus need-based aid I will be fine? (I don't make much $ but I don't know that I am especially "needy").

I am basically a financial aid idiot. I know almost nothing, though I have started at least trying to educate myself while waiting for my work to send me my tax stuff.

You can just make an estimate of your information now and as long as it's relatively accurate you will not need to update it if you just end up with loans or merit-based aid.

For grants that require parental information, just send in an estimate ASAP and if there is a dramatic difference then you'll need to inform the school and they may adjust the grant accordingly. In this case, if your parents have decent salaries, even if yours is crap, you probably won't qualify for need-based aid at many (if any at all) schools.

You can just make an estimate of your information now and as long as it's relatively accurate you will not need to update it if you just end up with loans or merit-based aid.

For grants that require parental information, just send in an estimate ASAP and if there is a dramatic difference then you'll need to inform the school and they may adjust the grant accordingly. In this case, if your parents have decent salaries, even if yours is crap, you probably won't qualify for need-based aid at many (if any at all) schools.

Yeah, my parents make and lose a lot of money every year, they are self-employed so there is always money circulating around but not actually landing on anything. I am not expecting them to pay for law school in any way shape or form, but I am probably not going to get need-based aid because of how much they make.

Unless I'm much mistaken (and it's possible - I'm embarrassingly stupid about financial aid despite my many many student loans...or maybe there's a correlation? ) the schools don't process the FAFSA. That's processed by the federal Dept. of Education and reports are sent to the individual schools that you designate. Besides, the standards are uniform and I believe that nearly all grad students qualify for the $18,500 in Stafford loans. The FAFSA primarily determines whether you're eligible for any of that as subsidized loans (up to $8,500 can be subsidized.)

Once the schools receive your report, they use some of the information to do their own financial aid calculations. This is where it varies from school to school. Some won't require anything additional, some require Need Access or their own forms. Some make you supply your parents' financial info regardless of your status (grrr.) I loved Michigan, because they didn't require parental data if you could prove financial independence for at least five years.

So, a couple of questions for ya'll: Is everyone filling out their FAFSA and Need Access forms ASAP, even if they haven't filed their taxes yet or received W-2's from their employers? If you are submitting the FAFSA soon, are you sending it to just the schools to which you've been accepted, or are you sending it to ones which are still pending? Will the schools even process a FAFSA if you haven't been accepted yet?

Do it now. A lot of schools have a 1/15 priority deadline, so it's worth it to estimate now and update later as needed. Like Jolie pointed out, the DoE processes the FAFSA and will send it to the requested schools. However, the form allows only 6 schools at a time, so you have to wait until it's processed with the first six until you can add the next 6.

In addition to what Jolie said, the FAFSA is also used to determine whether you can get a Perkins loan (for up to $6000).

I just started filling out the Need Access form. Does anyone know if there's a cost involved with Need Access? ie: Do I have to pay to submit it to schools? One of the great ironies of life is that people who need financial aid have to pay money in order to even be considered for financial aid (stupid College Board, I hate you with a passion!). Is this the same for Need Access? (and while I'm at it, for the FAFSA?).

I just started filling out the Need Access form. Does anyone know if there's a cost involved with Need Access? ie: Do I have to pay to submit it to schools? One of the great ironies of life is that people who need financial aid have to pay money in order to even be considered for financial aid (stupid College Board, I hate you with a passion!). Is this the same for Need Access? (and while I'm at it, for the FAFSA?).

There's no cost associated with the FAFSA. I can't say for certain, but I seem to recall breaking out the credit card for Need Access.